


i'm just a kid

by trappedoutside124



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Episode: s03e18-21 Sozin's Comet, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:47:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24798670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trappedoutside124/pseuds/trappedoutside124
Summary: They were all just kids when they saved the world, but everyone seems to forget that.A story about Aang and Zuko's struggle being two teenagers forced into roles of prestige and power after the war, and how their friends and family help them cope.
Relationships: Aang & Toph Beifong, Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 162





	i'm just a kid

People forget that they were all just kids when Aang saved the world. 

They were barely teenagers. The boys couldn't even grow facial hair. Yet, when they were rebuilding the world, everyone expected them to act like adults. For the most part, they did. Their journeys had forced them to forgo childhood. No two of them were a better example of this than Zuko and Aang. 

Zuko, now the youngest Fire Lord in the nation's history, was saddled with an incredible burden: undoing the wrongs of his country from the past 100 years. He need to decolonize the Earth Kingdom, pull troops back from the farthest reaches of the water tribe, and begin assisting with Air Temple repairs. Moreover, he had to convince his country that _they_ were in the wrong. His father and forefathers had done an impeccable job of brainwashing their people into believing that they truly were the good guys. Now, he had to convince those same citizens that he had their best interests in mind, and that everything in their history books was wrong. 

Zuko could handle most of it, especially since he had Aang, the White Lotus, and a few key generals on his side. Ozai had led through a cult of fear, and now that he was imprisoned, military staff were quickly coming to Zuko's aid. It didn't hurt that Mai threatened anyone who openly criticized Zuko; she was a very protective girlfriend. 

However, he was just 16 years old, and although he had done well in dealing with his past, he still wasn't completely over it. It was hard to simultaneously process tons of childhood trauma while on diplomatic missions with leaders who hated you. When he went to the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se, he nearly got yelled out of the throne room by angry officials who were there when Azula overthrew the government. Moreover, despite the the pure evil that lived inside her, Azula was always in the back of Zuko's mind. She was imprisoned in solitary confinement, with triple the usual number of guards to make sure she stayed in her cell. Her mind had definitely broken after the last Agni Kai; she spent most days talking to herself. Mai and Ty Lee visited her every so often, but Azula never made any indication that she recognized either of them. 

She was crazy, and evil, and murderous, but she was his sister. And because of that, he worried about her.

Zuko spent his nights laying awake until dawn, tossing and turning from anxiety. Every time a mayor of an Earth Kingdom town told him of the atrocities the Fire Nation committed, every time Sokka and Katara wrote him about how the South Pole was finally rebuilding, every time he looked at Aang and remembered how he was the last of the Air Nomads, he felt waves of guilt and shame wash over him. 

But he was only a kid. He was only 16 years old. And he had the weight of a nation on his shoulders. 

Iroh helped immensely. He could see how his nephew was inching closer and closer to a full breakdown. So, he forced Mai and Zuko to stop by his tea shop whenever they were in the Earth Kingdom. He served every calming herb he could find, and stayed up with Zuko all night so Zuko could vent to him. He sent huge chests of tea bags to the castle, so that Zuko could have his favorite tea whenever he needed it. 

Mai was fiercely protective over her boyfriend, and a great negotiator. She knew when Zuko was overwhelmed. She could tell by the twitch of his jawline, the prolonged silences in meetings, the way he cracked his knuckles one by one under his sleeves. When meetings got to be too much, when people demanded too much of him, she took over the room. Azula had trained her well in the art of commanding attention. Not only that, but she was the daughter of a prominent governor, and thus privvy to how these meetings worked. She went on her own missions to countless Earth Kingdom towns to oversee reparation efforts so Zuko could rest. She wasn't afraid to speak up when she needed to speak up, and earned herself a fierce reputation by the other military generals. No matter what, she stuck by Zuko's side through it all. 

And of course, there was Aang. In the year after the comet, Aang spent much of his time in the fire nation with Zuko to help with rebuilding the world. Of course, he went to see Katara, Sokka, Suki, and Toph whenever he could, especially Katara. He was constantly flying back and forth between the South Pole and the palace. When he was at the palace, the two would take long walks around the grounds, discussing everything from politics, to history, to dreams they'd had the night before. He understood what it was like to have the weight of a nation on his back, and so they could confide in each other. 

Because, Aang was younger than Zuko. And Aang was the last of his people. 

And Aang had nightmares, too. 

He had nightmares that he lost to Ozai, and failed everyone. He had nightmares that Katara was missing and he couldn't find her. He had awful nightmares where he heard Sokka, Toph, and Zuko yelling for help but he could only run in place. The worst dreams were the ones where the Air Nomads were alive, and he had a home with them. After those dreams, he woke up in tears. 

Just like Zuko, everyone expected him to act like an adult, since he was the Avatar. Unlike Zuko, however, people revered him. They treated him like a god, and for the most part, showered him in praise. They expected him to want to punish the Fire Nation severely, and became enraged when he wouldn't give into their bloodlust. The praise made him uncomfortable, and he almost preferred being insulted. 

He still felt an immense amount of guilt from the state of the world, and had a sort of imposter syndrome as well; people praised him like he was a god, but he still felt like he had let them down by not saving the world sooner. 

Roku could feel this, and Roku was there for Aang. He would appear to him at his lowest, giving him comfort and wisdom, and the courage to speak justly and with truth. Roku could give him wisdom and insight that others couldn't, and sometimes Aang saw him as a father figure, despite Roku being a past life. Aang was only 13, but he was a fully realized Avatar. And with that came power, wisdom, and strength. 

As well as responsibility. 

For the first few months, Aang spent most of his time in the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, since Ozai had decimated a significant part of the Earth Kingdom during the comet. Katara, Sokka, and Suki were doing an excellent job in the Water Tribe so Aang could focus his energy elsewhere. And while he was in the Earth Kingdom, no one was a better bodyguard than Toph Beifong. 

Toph reminded him to be strong and stand up for himself and others. She wasn't afraid to get into people's faces, and she wasn't afraid to keep Aang humble when the praise threatened to get to his head. She commanded troops easily, especially once they saw her metal bend. Every surviving Earth Kingdom military official wanted Toph to train their soldiers. It gave Toph something to do when she wasn't at home with her parents or helping Aang. Toph also made Aang laugh. Humor was hard to come by a lot of the time; there was so much death, destruction, and despair everywhere they went. Toph kept Aang's spirits high, and she let him have fun when he need to have fun. He was an airbender primarily, and his lighthearted, goodnatured attitude still shone through. 

Nowhere, however, was Aang more comfortable and secure than when he was with Katara. When he was with her, he felt the nightmares subside, his anxiety decrease, and the weight of the world fall off of his shoulders. When he was away from her, it was like he couldn't breathe normally. Now that the war was over and he wasn't training 24/7, the two actually had a chance to date like regular teenagers. They wrote each other constantly when Aang was away. He sent her all the panda lillies he could get his hands on, and was constantly checking to make sure she and Sokka were safe and healthy. 

After the gang split up from Ba Sing Se after the war, he didn't see her for a two months. After spending the last year and a half never away from each other, those months felt like a lifetime. In that time, his anxiety and nightmares had never been worse. He missed his friends like crazy, and Zuko could tell. So, Zuko told Aang to go see her for a week in the North Pole, where she and her father were talking with other tribe leaders on how to help prop up the Southern Tribe. Aang didn't even wait to tell Katara he was coming; he grabbed Appa and Momo and took off. They both cried when they saw each other, hugging and talking over each other and trying to catch up. They spent a whole day wandering around, talking and swimming and laughing. While he was there, he only had two nightmares. 

After that, he knew that he needed to see Katara more. He couldn't ask her to leave the water tribe; she had spent so long away from her home that it was unfair to ask her to leave just for him. So, they made a plan that worked for both of them. Until Zuko had created a complete plan for how the Fire Nation was going to pay reparations for the war, and until at least 70% of the Earth Kingdom had been rebuilt, the two would see each other for a week every month, writing letters in the meantime. By that time, Sokka and Hakoda would have the Water Tribe working in tandem to grow in strength again. Then, Aang and Katara could start traveling together, just the two of them, splitting the work with Zuko to help rebuild Ozai's broken world. 

Katara helped center Aang and calm him down. She held him at night when he woke up crying, and didn't mind staying up all night so they could just talk. For all her ferocity and power, she was a natural peacemaker, and brought order and gentleness to every meeting with governments and every moment alone. She recognized Aang for what he was: not just one of the most powerful Avatars to ever live, but also a 13 year old kid who needed a break sometimes. She was so protective over him; after all, someone needed to protect him while he was busy protecting the world. 

The whole group--Sokka, Suki, Toph, Katara, Aang, Zuko, and Mai--all met together in Ba Sing Se whenever possible. They sat, had tea, and played games. They got into trouble together, and even once had to hide from Earth Kingdom Police after a game of hide-and-bend got out of control. They laughed and laughed for hours, and forgot for a few days about the world outside of their little family. They acted like kids. 

Because, after all, that's what they all were in their purest forms. A bunch of kids.

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you guys think in the comments! and yes i got the inspiration from that one tik tok song don't flame me lmao


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